1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to ornamentation for vehicular wheels. More specifically, the invention relates to a retaining article to secure wheel ornamentation to vehicular wheels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wheel ornamentation, such as wheel caps and covers (hereinafter xe2x80x9cwheel coversxe2x80x9d) are aesthetic devices used to enhance the look of the wheels to which they are attached. Wheel covers are used because the manufacture, finish and mounting of a wheel cover to a wheel is less expensive than manufacturing a wheel having the same quality finish of a wheel cover. A chrome surface on a wheel cover is an inexpensive alternative to a chrome plated or polished wheel. In addition, wheel covers provide various types of appearances and styling variations, all of which may be combined with a single wheel design. The desirability of wheel covers is, however, directly proportional to the ability to inexpensively attach the wheel covers to the wheel permanently while adding little weight to the overall composite wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,854, issued to Nielson et al. on Mar. 29, 1994, discloses a wheel cover retention system which incorporates a plurality of retainers secured to the wheel cover when it is mounted to a hollow protrusion extending out from the inboard surface of the wheel cover. The retainers receive lug nuts which hold the wheel in place. This system of wheel cover retention is undesirable because each retainer is an element independent of the other retainers. Inventory costs and assembly costs increase when dealing with so many pieces which fabricate a retention system.
U.S. Pat. 5,695,257, issued to Wright et al. on Dec. 9, 1997, discloses a retention system for a wheel cover. This system includes a ring having a number of attachments secured thereto allowing the wheel cover and the wheel to be attached to the ring keeping the wheel cover secured to the wheel. This system relies on bolts, nuts and attachment brackets. This system is undesirable because there are several parts to the system which require alignment and threading and the system is cumbersome to install and remove from the wheel. More specifically, for a user to access the wheel, the user must unbolt the four bolts which are shown holding the wheel cover to the ring and the four nuts shown securing the ring to the wheel. This task is tedious and undesirable.
A retaining article is used to secure ornamentation, having an inboard surface defining a plurality of protrusions, to a wheel. The wheel is secured to a wheel hub with a plurality of lug nuts. The retaining article includes a ring defining an outer periphery and an inner periphery. A plurality of openings extend through the ring between the outer and inner diameters. The plurality of openings receive each of the plurality of protrusions extending out from the inboard surface of the ornamentation. The ring also includes a plurality of legs which extend out therefrom to engage the lug nuts securing the ornamentation to the wheel.
One advantage associated with the invention is the ability to secure ornamentation to a wheel of a motor vehicle. Another advantage associated with the invention is the ability to secure ornamentation to a wheel using a single article. Yet another advantage associated with the invention is the ability to prevent noise generated from rattling of the ornamentation against the wheel.